


Strangeness and Charm

by TheBookTheDragonSaved



Series: I will write this ship or I will die trying. [4]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Character studies, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Guardian of The galaxy Loki, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Mantis is tougher than you think, Not sure why it won't capitalise right, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Politics, Teamwork, Various annoying Asgardian lords, We need more Loki and Mantis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:01:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24983527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBookTheDragonSaved/pseuds/TheBookTheDragonSaved
Summary: Because I'm obsessed with these two (give them a chance, maybe you will be too), and have too many ideas to fit them all into my stories. Some chapters will be longer than others; some will be happier than others; and some will be angstier.Most recent chapter:“You can’t just twirl around the throne room,” Loki hissed.<--(That's deceptive; it's actually really sad.)Includes: Dealing with Obnoxious Aesir Nobles; Mantis trying to speak with Drax about philosophy; Mantis not being okay.Will maybe include: time travel; Mantis & Loki chilling with the elves; smugglers who don't stand a chance.P.S. Originally 'Mind + Heart', but then I found a Florence and the Machine song with this title, and what can one do?
Relationships: Loki & Mantis (Marvel), Loki/Mantis (Marvel)
Series: I will write this ship or I will die trying. [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726816
Kudos: 22





	1. Dancing and dealing with Obnoxious Lords

**Author's Note:**

> Much credit to Jenna_Nicole, whose story 'Darling, Love is Ugly' was what finally made me join AO3 and write this stuff myself. I don't know if they even still use this site, but go read it! It's cool. There're also a set of playlists at the end of Chapter 8 that really helped inspire me and nail down (sorta) the dynamic between two very complex characters who don't show much of what they're thinking.
> 
> Ples do the reviews :) I really enjoy chattin' about this pairing, and there are so few people who consider it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor is off on a quest to find his kingliness, and has left Loki as ruler of Asgard (yes, that is a weird decision, but you know Thor would do it), reasoning that he is much more stable now, and that Mantis will care enough to look after the Aesir people with everything she is.
> 
> She and Loki are currently at a dance in the palace, trying to corral the nobles to make ruling easier, but some of them are being a pain.

“Well, you have to admit, you’re not exactly traditional. You and your-” the man gestured randomly, in the manner of someone talking of something slightly distasteful “-lady friend,” he finished, wrinkling his nose.

“Mantis,” said Loki, gritting his teeth, and this time allowing it to be noticed, as a warning to Lord Keret to _stop talking_.

“Quite,” said he, obliviously. “What manner of creature is she, exactly? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anything quite like her.”

The condescending manner in which he said it finally made Loki snap, and he was just reaching for the ornate (but still functional) knife at his belt to shake some sense into the obnoxious aristocrat, when a hand appeared on his arm, suddenly turning the movement into momentum. Before he knew it, he was being spun onto the dance floor by Mantis, who was looking at him with a knowing smile.

He tried to say something, but she held a finger to his lips until the next dance began, so that the music could cover their words. It was a gentler piece, made more for the aristocracy showing off their jewelled dresses and fine linen than actual dancing, so they could murmur easily into each-other’s ears, if they just slightly pushed the boundaries of decency.

When the dancing began, Mantis removed the finger from his lips to place it on his shoulder instead, leaving him free to speak, which he immediately took advantage of.

“I don’t see why you had to stop me,” he complained. “Lord Keret is an obnoxious weasel, with an ego that makes _me_ look humble. He’s also unfortunately powerful in the court, so we need to bring him in line somehow. A knife at his throat would do him good.”

“As enjoyable as that would be,” said Mantis, and suddenly he was reminded of why he loved her, as she stepped gingerly around the other couples, in a dark green gown with tasteful gold embroidery (his own royal colours), looking every inch the sweet, retiring noble-man’s daughter, except for the wild gleam in her eyes that made him feel like they were off on some far planet under stars, instead of trapped in a ballroom with a bunch of absurdly influential morons. “As enjoyable as that would be,” she repeated, clearly trying not to giggle. “I think there might be a better way of handling him.”

“It’s not unheard of in Asgardian politics for a ruler to hold a blade to a particularly infuriating noble,” Loki argued. “And no one likes Lord Keret anyway,” he muttered under his breath. He spun Mantis under his arm, sending her into the path of a rotund but jovial looking gentleman, and reached himself to clasp the hands of a pretty young woman in an unfortunately bright shade of green. He gave her a cursory glance, before watching over her shoulder as Mantis moved with her partner, careful not to touch his skin, until he said something that made her laugh and they clasped their hands like the rest of the people on the floor.

“I like him,” Mantis declared, when she spun back into Loki’s arms.

“Lord Myron?” asked Loki. “I always thought he was a little stuck in his ways.”

“Well, I like him anyway. Let’s keep him.”

Loki inclined his head, trusting her instincts. “I’m sure we can keep him nearby.” He was rewarded with a smile that flashed her bright white teeth and made her eyes twinkle.

“Good,” she said decisively. “And if you want a reason to pull that knife on someone-”

“I’m listening,” Loki told her seriously. She swatted at his chest.

“-I’ve been wandering the room, and I think Lord Tirlin might be convinced to throw the first punch,” she finished, turning them a half circle and nodding her head backwards to indicate the man she was talking about.

Loki regarded Lord Tirlin, who was flushed slightly red and speaking loudly to a group of Lords and Ladies gathered around him. “Hmm. Not a fan of the new regime, I take it?”

“Not a fan of me,” Mantis told him, without annoyance.

“Which is even better,” Loki said thoughtfully. His own (unusually literal) skeletons in the closet were impossible to refute, so their best chance was to avoid making him a point of contention altogether. Mantis, on the other hand, was a clean slate, and already enormously beloved by the people. No one could oppose his defending her to a drunk noble who had thrown the first punch – in fact many would probably applaud his restraint in not killing the man, so it might even help the two of them achieve the change in his image that they so desperately needed.

Thus decided, he turned his gaze back on Mantis. “And you?” he asked carefully.

“I will go speak with Karet,” she informed him.

“Not what I meant,” he murmured.

“Oh.” Mantis’s fingers tensed slightly on his shoulder, then relaxed as she sighed quietly. “I am well. Well enough,” she corrected, when he gave her a look. “You were right – I am good at this.”

She said it without the slightest hint of pride, seeming rather slightly resigned to the fact. No matter how well she did here, Loki knew she would always rather be among the stars. It was where she belonged: free, not in an ornately decorated ballroom. However well she might play the part, it wasn’t a fit. He swore to himself that as soon as this was over, and Thor had returned, they would go to Alfheim, to live for as long as they wanted in the magic-laden forests of the elves, and walk freely beneath the leaves of his mother’s homeland. This place wasn’t right for either of them.

Mantis smiled quietly at him, and he realised that she must have felt his train of thought, and likely knew exactly what he had been thinking.

“Only temporary?” she said.

“Only temporary,” he agreed. “But we may as well make a good job of it while we’re here.”

The music came to an end as they returned to their original position, and Mantis disregarded the usual etiquette of curtsying in favour of stepping in and kissing him softly on the cheek.

“See you in a moment,” she said cheerfully, her earlier uncertainty vanishing without a trace, though he knew it was still there. “Enjoy your knifing!” she added brightly, spinning on her toes to make her way off the floor and leaving a smile tugging the edges of his mouth.

Mantis slipped unobtrusively through the crowd, preparing herself to drop the word ‘celestial’ as much as possible in conversation with Lord Karet, who apparently had something of an obsession. She had been reluctant to use Ego’s memory in such a way, but Loki had told her to think of it as the very least her supposed father-figure could do for her, and she knew that ‘raised by a celestial’ was a lot more impressive than being a little bug creature from no-one-knows-where. It might not be the healthiest way of dealing with her difficulties, but it had a callous utilitarianism that she found she could deal with better than trying to be angry.

Halfway through her conversation with Lord Karet, who she was pleased to see was now looking at her in something close to awe, she heard a commotion start somewhere to her right and hid a smile, as those around her craned their necks to find the source of the disturbance.

She turned serenely and bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing at the stately Lord Tirlin being dragged from the hall by guards, white as a sheet and with his gaze fixed on the knife that Loki was now returning to his belt. When Loki caught her eye from across the room and grinned at her, she very nearly giggled, catching it at the last moment, but she couldn’t help the tiniest upward curling of her lips.

 _We’ll be alright,_ thought Mantis. _If we stick-_

 _-together, we’ll be alright,_ thought Loki, watching her turn back to her audience with a smile still playing on her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those Aesir nobles don't stand a chance. Suckaz.
> 
> I've always thought Loki and Mantis would be the ultimate manipulative team. Loki is already potent enough, and with Mantis? Irresistible. I also love the idea of Mantis in Alfheim (I know she's an alien, but doesn't it feel like she belongs in magic?), so I'll probably write that at some point. I have a whole bunch of ideas.
> 
> Also, swear to read + kudos any Loki and Mantis stuff that people write. Pleeeeese!
> 
> -TheBookTheDragonSaved


	2. Observations for the Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Found this in my random thingies - just a little character contemplation with a side of humour. I think it's a little odd that people think of Mantis as this completely bright + innocent person when her background is so dark. (I touched on this in 'Understanding, in All its Many Forms', which is... 2nd? 3rd? in this series, and is also my favourite thing that I've written so far, because it got some of what I think about on paper. The writing also isn't as sketchy as some of my other things, for whatever reason.)

It was only after her friendship with Loki bloomed (and really, after she had started reading with regularity) that she began to see that her view of the world had been a little lopsided. With Ego, things had been simple: black was always black, white was always white, and grey was always somewhere in between. Ego had known everything; he would answer her questions with brilliantly clear answers that immediately explained a new part of the nature of the universe, but the one thing he had not taught her was the integral nature of change. Ego had despised change. It was partly this, Mantis imagined, which had led to his desire to smother everything in the universe but him.

She thought sometimes, about why the stories she was reading now had such a markedly different effect on her views. It was not the medium; Ego had often told her extensive stories about his travels – another symptom of his grandiose tendencies – but they had all been about their endings: This is how we got to _now_ ; this is why that is the truth _now_. The books Loki had introduced her to had endings, true, but they seemed less like endings, and more like middles – like a knot in a piece of string. The knot had a beginning and an end, but it was not the same beginning and end as the piece of string it was a part of. She enjoyed these kinds of contemplations immensely, and Loki seemed just as fascinated by how she saw the world… although the rest of the crew were not.

Thor, being raised to offend as few foreign dignitaries as possible (somewhat unsuccessfully, if Mantis had to guess) and more importantly, having grown up with Loki as a brother, had a truly impressive fake-listening face. It had fooled even her the first few times, until she had tripped on their way down the hall, accidentally brushing his arm and feeling how very zoned-out he really was.

Drax, poor soul, would not understand a word if she tried to discuss these things with him. She had tried once, and only once, assuming it could do no harm, although success was improbable. He had not spoken to her for three days afterwards. Needless to say, she had resolved to trouble him no further, and keep their friendship at the level of crude jokes and, occasionally, cruder ones.

Her attempts with the others were no more fruitful. Groot was too young; Rocket too sour; Nebula too frightening and Gamora had too little tolerance for the theoretical. Quill might have had the capabilities to carry out such a discussion, but not the inclination. And so, she found herself spending more and more time with Loki, who would at first listen with cool curiosity, pointing out sticking points in her logic, and later began to share some of his own ideas and beliefs. It was both edifying and enjoyable, although Thor had once tried to apologise for Loki’s criticisms, believing them to be offensive. She filed this knowledge away with everything else.

Observations for the day: _The wrong metaphor can make Drax activate the escape pods._ Also: _The escape pods are not completely functional; 1B will emit small amounts of helium gas when activated._ Lastly: _The chemistry books Loki lent me are correct in their description of the effect of helium on the humanoid voice, but they fail to mention its propensity for entertainment._

Later addition: _The Guardians treat my increased vocabulary with trepidation. Do not use ‘propensity’ around the helm._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felt weird to have no notes at the end, so have a smiley face:
> 
> :)


	3. Mantis is not Ok (and we need to stop pretending she is)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No particular backstory, make one up if you want. They're in Asgard.

\---------------------------------------------------

“You can’t just twirl around the throne room,” Loki hissed.

Mantis looked at him in the way she always did when she thought he was being uncreative. “Why? No one else is here.”

Loki sighed, gritted his teeth, and tried to be patient. “While I… _understand_ that you are unused to the majesty of court life, this space demands some level of decorum. It has stood for millennia. Nations have risen and fallen by the grace of that –” he gestured to the gilt dais at the hall’s head “ – throne. It is not for _twirling_.” He couldn’t help a tiny bit of bite coming into the last word.

Mantis, usually very respectful of anything he told her, just wrinkled her nose at him. “I grew up in a much prettier place than this,” she told him matter-of-factly, and Loki couldn’t help but laugh.

“Now that, I very much doubt,” he said.

Mantis barely seemed to notice he had spoken. “It had lakes full of flowers,” she continued unsteadily, and he noticed that her cheeks were unusually flushed. “And golden spires by the hundreds. The tapestries _there_ were knit with silver, and the stained-glass windows _there_ weren’t glass at all – they were sheets of unbroken gemstone.” Before he could react, she had tugged her wrist out of his grip and slid to the centre of the great hall, arms extended upwards.

“Trees formed of rubies!” she cried, and her eyes seemed to be seeing far away. “Oceans of emeralds, a night sky made of one giant carved opal. Those windows had been for a _million_ years. _Those_ walls had stood since time began.” Suddenly she focused on him again, her face looking gaunt and stricken, all vitality lost.

“They were built on bones,” she whispered hauntedly. “Made of dust, built on bones.”

\----------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost deleted this, but the ending creeped me out, so I posted it instead.
> 
> \- The Book the Dragon Saved  
> (Please do tell me what you think, and give me suggestions, if you'd like!)


End file.
